thursday october 15
The 2009 National Book Award finalists were announced yesterday. Winners will be awarded at the National Book Foundation's 60th anniversary celebration on November 18th. And don't forget to vote for the Best of The National Book Awards Fiction winner! See my previous blog for details.
FICTION
American Salvage--Bonnie Jo Campbell
Let The Great World Spin--Colum McCann
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders--Daniyal Mueenuddin
Lark and Termite--Jayne Anne Phillips
Far North--Marcel Theroux
NONFICTION
Following the Water: A Hydromancer’s Notebook—David M. Carroll
Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species—Sean B. Carroll
Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City-Greg Grandin
The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome’s Deadliest Enemy--Adrienne Meyer
The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt—T.J. Stiles
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friday october 02
Grey’s Anatomy actress Ellen Pompeo recently gave birth to a daughter on September 15th, naming her Stella Luna Pompeo Ivery. Stellaluna just so happens to be an adorable children’s book by Jannell Cannon, about a fruit bat separated from her mother and adopted by a family of birds.
If the name Stella Luna doesn’t inspire the expectant parents, then the library has plenty of baby name books to consider, such as:
A is for Atticus: Baby Names from Great Books by Lorilee Craker
Baby Names Made Easy: The Complete Reverse Dictionary of Baby Names by Amanda Elizabeth Barden
Beyond Ava & Aiden: The Enlightened Guide to Naming Your Baby by Linda Rosenkrantz
Cool Names for Babies by Pamela Redmond Satran
The Name Book: Over 10,000 Names--Their Meanings, Origins, and Spiritual Significance by Dorothy Astoria
60,001+ Best Baby Names by Dianne Stafford
friday september 25
The National Book Foundation is celebrating its 60th anniversary by asking readers to pick their favorite National Book Award fiction winner from the past 60 years. This is the first time in the Foundation's history that an award is open to a public vote. The six finalists, selected by 140 writers from across the country, are:
The Stories of John Cheever (1981), Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1953), The Collected Stories of William Faulkner (1951), The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor (1972), Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon (1974) and The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty (1983).
Starting this week through October 21st, you can
vote at the National Book Foundation’s website, and the winner will be announced on November 18th, the day of the National Book Awards ceremony in NYC.
wednesday july 22
My high school world literature teacher Ms. P. probably wouldn’t have been too pleased with this book. After all, Beowulf on the Beach: What to Love and What to Skip in Literature’s Greatest Hits by Jack Murnighan lists sections to skip over in several of her required readings:
The Aeneid, Madame Bovary, Crime and Punishment...
And while I loved her class (except those pop essay quizzes) and I love the classics, I have to admit that William Faulkner’s confusing The Sound and the Fury (a two-page long sentence?) and James Joyce’s super-confusing Ulysses (Whaaaat?) aren’t at the top of my “to read” list. There are sections to skip for those, too.
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wednesday july 01
Summer is officially here and the Fourth of July is upon us! I’ve been in a crazy cooking and baking mood lately, so of course I want to try new recipes. One cookbook that comes to mind is perfect for summer and is as all-American as they come: In the Kennedy Kitchen: Recipes and Recollections of a Great American Family by Neil Connolly.
Connolly was Rose Kennedy’s personal chef at her summer beachfront home on Cape Cod in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, from 1983 to 1995. He was also in charge of their big Fourth of July clambakes for over 200 guests, as well as many other special Kennedy occasions.
In the Kennedy Kitchen brings together 175 favorite Kennedy recipes to your kitchen: platters of roasted chicken and grilled lobster, big bowls of corn and clam chowders and potato salad, and tart key lime pie, to name but a few. Enjoy!
friday may 29
I can trace my adult interest in spelling bees to my less-than-stellar performance at my sixth grade spelling bee circa 1983. I can’t remember how many rounds I lasted (probably 1) or what word I misspelled (probably something not too difficult), but the perfectionist in me remembers I should have studied harder. For 13-year-old Kavya Shivashanker, however, the word “Laodicean” earned her the title of 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.
For the rest of us, there’s always next year, so let the library give you a head start with these great books, recordings, and DVDs!
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thursday april 23
Today is “Talk Like Shakespeare Day” in Chicago, in honor of William Shakespeare’s 445th birthday. Methinks there’s no reason why we, too, can’t talk like the Bard! After all, Shakespeare used 25,000 words in his writing, coining more than 1,700 of the words and phrases we use today.
To help us out, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater offers 10 quick pointers on their new website, talklikeshakespeare.org. Here is a sampling:
- Instead of you, say thou. Instead of y’all, say thee.
- Don’t waste time saying "it," just use the letter "t" (’tis, 'twill, I’ll do’t).
- When in doubt, add the letters "eth" to the end of verbs (he runneth, he trippeth, he falleth).
- To add weight to your opinions, try starting them with methinks, mayhaps, in sooth or wherefore.
- Instead of cursing, try calling your tormenters jackanapes or canker-blossoms or poisonous bunch-back’d toads.
Continue Reading…
thursday april 09
My one-year-old daughter’s favorite toy is a frog that attached to her infant car seat when she was a baby. She lost it, so her grandmother bought another one. We found the first one again, so now she has two. Sometimes she will hold one in each hand in her crib at night, so I decided to read her a chapter from each of the Frog and Toad books by author/illustrator Arnold Lobel before she goes to bed.
Last night we began with the story “The Letter” in Frog and Toad Are Friends (1970), the first title in the Frog and Toad series and a Caldecott Medal Honor Book. Toad is sad because he never receives any mail, so Frog sends him a letter to cheer him up. Lobel’s simple text and charming illustrations in soft greens and browns capture all the emotions of true friendship.
I’m looking forward to reading more of their adventures this evening, but these stories are perfect chapter books for beginning readers, too! And don’t forget to also check out:
tuesday march 17
My 12-month-old daughter hasn’t learned to walk yet, but it appears we’ve entered the toddler years. Yesterday I was talking to her and she put her hands over my mouth, followed by an impish smile. This morning after I gave her a Cheerio, she offered it to me and then teasingly pulled it away.
I’ve found a great children’s picture book author for toddlers (and their parents) confronting all the issues that arise during this amazing yet challenging time. Looking at just some of the colorfully illustrated titles by Elizabeth Verdick, I realize just what I’m in for…
tuesday february 03
My 11-month-old daughter doesn’t like to sit still for story time these days. Ever the wiggle worm, she squirms nonstop in my lap until I give up reading and put her to bed. The other night I showed her a board book, Charley Harper's ABC’s, and it held her attention until we made it to the letter R. Needless to say, I was thrilled.
One of my favorite artists, Cincinnati-based Charley Harper (1922-2007) was best known for his bold, graphic illustrations of nature, especially birds. His unique style, which he called “minimal realism,” established his reputation as an innovative wildlife artist. His two posthumous children’s books--ABC’s and 123’s--are a great way to introduce a new generation to Charley Harper’s work.
wednesday january 14
What should I read next? That’s often the dilemma we face after we finish a book. Well, fear no more, because on January 1st, the library kicked off our new year-long Featured Book of the Month program, designed to introduce readers to books they might otherwise have overlooked.
Our January selection is The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, humorist and travel writer Bill Bryson’s hilarious and delightful memoir about growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, in the 1950s.
The Thunderbolt Kid was born when six-year-old Bryson found a scratchy green jersey with a golden thunderbolt across the chest in the basement of his parents’ house. The sweater bestowed extraordinary super powers: the ability to zap teachers and babysitters and deflect unwanted kisses from old people.
Bryson fondly recalls his boyhood, his zany family, and his beloved hometown, while at the same time shedding light on all aspects of life in America during the 1950s. And, whether you grew up in that decade or not, we think you’ll be happy with our choice.
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wednesday december 31
Every once in awhile, a book comes along when you need it most. For me, The Suicide Index: Putting My Father’s Death In Order was that book.
A 2008 National Book Award finalist, author Joan Wickersham poetically tries to make sense of the death of her beloved father by a self-inflicted gunshot wound on a cold February day in 1991. Using the index format found in the back of nonfiction books as chapter titles (Suicide: act of, Suicide: anger about, Suicide: attitude toward), Wickersham attempts to impose order on an intensely chaotic, personal experience.
Julia Glass, author of The Whole World Over, says it best:
“The Suicide Index is just astonishing. Having endured the suicide of a close family member, I opened this book with dread and longing; fearful of revisiting so much pain yet keenly wanting, as I always will, to understand why. No one can ever fully answer the devastating question that suicide remains for those left behind, yet here, in Joan Wickersham’s exquisitely straightforward story, I found surprising consolation.”
friday november 21
F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of my favorite authors, and The Great Gatsby is one of my all-time favorite books. The book itself is dedicated to his wife, Zelda Fitzgerald, in honor of their often tumultuous love. I was intrigued to read the story behind this dedication in the book Once Again to Zelda: The Stories Behind Literature’s Most Intriguing Dedications by Marlene Wagman-Geller.
Arranged chronologically, she reveals the fascinating, tragic, and often romantic stories behind the dedications in fifty classic books, including a few that I’ve read and enjoyed:
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1880)
Dedicated to
Anna Grigorevna Dostoevsky
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1936)
TO
J.R.M.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)
Dedication
For Mr. Lee and Alice
in consideration of Love & Affection
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (1965)
FOR Jack Dunphy AND Harper Lee
WITH MY LOVE AND GRATITUDE
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (1989)
To my mother
And the memory of her mother
You asked me once
what I would remember.
This, and much more.
tuesday october 28
This past weekend, I went to a family Halloween party. There was plenty of food on hand, including my aunt’s famous iced pumpkin, bat, and ghost cookies. If treats are on your menu this Halloween, I highly recommend these delicious new mysteries:
A Catered Halloween by Isis Crawford: Sisters Bernadette and Libby Simmons are hired to cater a haunted house fundraiser for the volunteer firemen of Longely, New York, at the old Peabody School. The severed head that is found at the haunted house turns out to be real—and the victim, Amethyst Applegate, was a former student at the school and a classmate of Bessie Osgood, who died under suspicious circumstances years ago and whose ghost still haunts the place. Bernie and Libby, along with their father, the town’s retired police chief, must solve this culinary cozy mystery.
Working Stiff by Tori Carrington: The week before Halloween, a body disappears from the funeral home of Greek American and Private Investigator Sofie Metropolis’s aunt. While working on this case—which may be a holiday prank--Sofie is also trying to prove the innocence of teenager Johnny Laughton, about to go on trial for the murder of his girlfriend. Complicating matters even further is her romantic interest in two men—family-approved Greek baker and pastry shop owner Dino Antonopoulous and the ever-mysterious Australian bounty hunter Jake Porter.
thursday september 25
Unless you’re living under a rock, you’re probably aware that we elect a new President in forty days. Jordan M. Wright is probably well aware of this too, as he owns a fascinating collection of approximately 1,250,000 pieces of campaign memorabilia—many of which can be see in his new book called Campaigning for President: Memorabilia from the Nation’s Finest Private Collection.
His collection begins with five brass clothing buttons designed to commemorate the inauguration of George Washington and ends with 4,000 items from the 2004 election. In between, there are 291 pages of political buttons, pins, and posters, as well as the very unusual items (puppets, paper dresses, and piñatas!) used in every national political campaign in United States history. Jordan has not limited himself to the major party nominees—he also has Presidential hopefuls, third-party candidates, and also-rans.
So do your civic duty and check out a copy of Campaigning for President before November 4th! As the book states, you'll have a wonderful insight into America's most important achievement--our democratic system.
thursday august 28
The best way to entertain my six-month-old daughter is to let her watch the fish in our aquarium. Sometimes she’ll sit in her bouncer for an hour or more and watch them flit by. She also loves to be read to, so Louis Ehlert’s Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On is next on her reading list.
Neon colored, cut paper fish with intricate patterns swim against a midnight blue background and introduce counting and basic addition in this beautiful concept book. One day my daughter will count fish, but for now, I can only imagine what she is thinking as she looks at the aquarium. Perhaps a line from Fish Eyes: “If I could put on a suit of scales, / add some fins and one of these tails, / I’d close my eyes and then I’d wish / that I’d turn into a beautiful fish.”
thursday august 07
My husband and I recently saw the exhibition Building Books: The Art of David Macaulay, currently on view at the Cincinnati Art Museum through September 7th.
David Macaulay is a Caldecott Medal winning children’s book author and illustrator who was born in England in 1946 and moved to Bloomfield, New Jersey when he was 11. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in architecture, he vowed never to practice. Instead, he experimented with creating books and his first, Cathedral, was published in 1973. His drawings have the uncanny ability to explain everything from simple gadgets to amazing architectural structures.
Building Books presents pen and ink illustrations from many of his classic books, including The New Way Things Work, Cathedral, Castle, City, Mill, Mosque, Pyramid, Unbuilding, and Underground. You can also see illustrations from his other children’s books such as Black and White (1991 Caldecott Medal winner), Shortcut, and Angelo. A great exhibit for adults and children alike!
Macaulay’s new book, The Way We Work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body, will be published in October.
friday july 25
Last night I watched the latest episode of Greatest American Dog on CBS, while my dog Sami slept on the couch. She can’t catch a Frisbee, walk on a teeter-totter, or jump through a hoop. Just getting her to take a proper walk, go outside on command, or play with a toy is a challenge, really. Needless to say, she will not be the Greatest American Dog, but I love her anyway.
The library has many recently published books to help you train (or just plain understand) your dog. Here are a few:
The Westwood Branch Library will also be hosting the Dog Days of August on Saturday, August 2nd, 9th, and 16th. Keep reading for a list of doggone fun activities!
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wednesday july 09
My coworker kindly gave me a copy of the children’s book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? as a baby shower gift, and I've been reading it to my daughter since she was born four months ago. She loves the rhyming text by Bill Martin, Jr. ("Red bird, red bird, what do you see? I see a yellow duck looking at me”) and the bold, colorful illustrations by Eric Carle.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was the first book Eric Carle illustrated. Since then, Martin (1916-2004) and Carle collaborated on three other beloved classics that I hope to add to my daughter’s collection: Polar Bear. Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?, and Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?. I’ve included links to the available board book editions for tiny fingers to hold and enjoy.
Your little one may also be interested in our popular Library Babies programs, so check our online program calendar or your local branch library for further details!
tuesday june 24
I'll be the first to admit that Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States sounds like a REALLY boring book. But as the Fourth of July approaches, humorist Bill Bryson aims to find out--with little known facts and stories--why American English is the way it is. For instance, he reveals why Yankee Doodle went to town riding on a pony, stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni.
Bryson also explores American words and phrases such as firecracker, fit as a fiddle, and fly off the handle and ponders place names like Rabbit Hash, Kentucky and Two Egg, Florida.
It’s quite clear that Bryson is fascinated by the English language, just as I am. You might also want to read the prequel to Made in America called The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way or consult Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words as well as his latest book, Bryson’s Dictionary for Writers and Editors.
thursday april 17
My seven-week-old daughter and I went to Spring Grove Cemetery today. Unfortunately for her, she slept through her entire first visit and missed the beautiful spring scenery: pink blooms on weeping cherry trees, ducks ambling across tranquil lakes, and monuments to the departed stretching to the sky.
According to Cincinnati Cemeteries: The Queen City Underground by Kevin Grace and Tom White, Spring Grove Cemetery was created in 1845 after several cholera epidemics swept the city. It was designed to resemble a landscaped park that provided dignified burials and a pastoral setting for the bereaved—as it still does today.
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friday february 15
The writers' strike is finally over, so the 80th Annual Academy Awards are still set to air on Sunday, February 24th at 8:00 p.m. on ABC. In honor of all things Hollywood, I decided to write about Toby Young’s gossipy memoir, How To Lose Friends and Alienate People.
Young is a British journalist obsessed with American celebrity. He leaves London to accept a job as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, but after years of inappropriate office pranks, drinking too much, desperately trying to crash Oscar parties, and offending celebrities like Nathan Lane and Mel Gibson, he is fired. As the New York Times wrote, “Young has an instinct for annoying the rich and famous that crosses over into the self-destructive.”
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friday february 01
I love to bake, so last year I took a cake decorating class thinking I might enjoy making wedding cakes from home. Let’s just say it didn’t go so well.
As Valentine’s Day approaches and wedding proposals are in the air, Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes gives me hope that maybe someday (and with a lot of practice) I can make perfect cakes too.
Martha's new book includes everything you need to know about baking and decorating wedding cakes, as well as complete recipes, equipment and techniques, and tips on planning, designing, transporting, and assembling them. Of course, the highlight of the book is her album of 111 beautifully photographed cakes for every bride’s taste and occasion.
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monday january 21
In college, my major was graphic design, but by my senior year I discovered (or should have realized all along) that librarianship was my true calling. Even so, when I went to bookstores, I would naturally pick up books with interesting covers and check the back flaps to see who designed them. One name kept appearing again and again: Chip Kidd.
You’re already familiar with Chip Kidd if you’ve read some of my earlier blogs, because he designed the covers for An Anthropologist on Mars, Schulz and Peanuts, and my all-time favorite cover, The Secret History. But Kidd has designed many more (mostly for publisher Alfred A. Knopf), and you can see a 400-page retrospective of his work in The Chip Kidd Album: Book One: Work, 1986-2006.
Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, David Sedaris’ Naked, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and When You Are Engulfed in Flames, and Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy (All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain) are well-known Chip Kidd covers included here.
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wednesday january 09
“The snow in the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation."
That’s the first line of Donna Tartt’s cult classic The Secret History, and the first time I read the sentence, I was hooked.
When narrator and native Californian Richard Papen transfers to Hampden College in Vermont, he joins an exclusive group of five other students studying ancient Greek taught by an eccentric professor. Gradually Richard earns their trust and becomes privy to the group’s secret history: they accidentally murdered a farmer during their recreation of an ancient Greek bacchanal.
One of the members, Bunny Corcorran, did not participate in the bacchanal and learns of the murder. As Bunny threatens to reveal their secret, Richard must decide whether to go along with their decision to silence him.
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wednesday december 26
I recently noticed on the library's book discussion group calendar that the Miami Township Branch Library book club will be discussing Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer on Tuesday, January 8th at 10:00 a.m.
I read the book this past summer and was blown away. I found myself wanting to talk about it with anyone who would listen--much to the annoyance of my husband and coworkers, I’m sure. But Krakauer’s book is that good. He grabs your attention and doesn’t let go.
Under the Banner of Heaven tells the true story of Mormon fundamentalists Dan and Ron Lafferty, who murdered the wife and infant daughter of their younger brother Allen in 1984 but claimed they were acting on direct orders from God.
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thursday december 13
After the unwrapping of gifts en masse in the basement of my grandparents’ house on Christmas Eve, there wasn’t much left to do. So I spent the evening in the big red armchair by the fake fireplace reading things in their magazine rack. The Peanuts comic strip books were my favorites. I read the same ones year after year.
Little did I know it then, but Peanuts will always be associated with my childhood. Through Charles Schulz’s strips, I have fond memories of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts gang. But how much do I actually know about Schulz himself?
Author David Michaelis has just written a new book called Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography that traces Schulz’s life from his modest beginnings as the son of a Midwestern barber to an icon of American popular culture. He realized his dream of creating a newspaper comic strip, yet was lonely and never fully understood by the people who adored him.
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friday november 30
Neurologist Oliver Sacks is back after a five-year writing absence with a new book currently on the New York Times Best Sellers List called Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. I’ve just picked up my library copy and am excited to read it. In the meantime, I thought I’d write about one of his earlier books.
In An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales, Sacks discusses seven medical cases that challenge our understanding of the brain and how it works. Here are a few:
- An artist loses all color vision after a car accident and now sees and paints only in black and white
- A young man has a brain tumor that leaves him with no memory of events past 1970
- A surgeon experiences the compulsive tics of Tourette syndrome except while operating
- An autistic boy named Stephen Wiltshire uses his extraordinary drawing skills to communicate with the world
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monday november 12
Thanksgiving is almost here, and so is the stress of preparing a delicious meal for your guests (insert turkey horror stories here). Thankfully, the editors of Fine Cooking Magazine have just published How to Cook a Turkey: And All the Other Trimmings, a handy guide and cookbook to help you make it through the day.
How to Cook a Turkey provides tips (to keep your sanity) and illustrated answers to all your pressing poultry questions, from which bird to buy (and how big) to how to carve it properly once cooked to perfection. There are also over 100 recipes for appetizers, turkey, stuffing and gravy, vegetables, potatoes, pies, and other autumn desserts. Plus, a whole chapter on what to do with those leftovers…
Continue Reading…
monday october 29
During preparations for a Halloween party in the English village of Woodleigh Common, 13-year-old Joyce Reynolds boasts that she saw a murder years ago. Nobody believes her, until she is found drowned during the party in a tub for bobbing apples. Detective Hercule Poirot is on the scene to investigate in Halloween Party, another tale from master of suspense Agatha Christie.
Want to curl up with more Halloween-themed murder mysteries on October 31st? Try these spooky suggestions, also written by women:
Witches’ Bane by Susan Wittig Albert: When a Halloween prank ends in murder, herb shop owner and private eye China Bayles’ friend Ruby becomes a prime suspect after being accused of practicing witchcraft.
Hallowed Bones by Carolyn Haines: As Halloween approaches, Private Investigator Sarah Booth Delaney probes the controversial case of Doreen Mallory, accused of killing her handicapped infant daughter.
Trick or Treat Murder by Leslie Meier: While preparing for the annual Halloween festival in Tinker’s Cove, Maine, Lucy Stone investigates a series of arsons that are destroying the town’s historic homes, one of which claims the life of socialite Monica Mayes.
thursday october 18
I’ve read a couple of Jane Austen's novels and have seen many of them adapted on film, but author Laurie Viera Rigler is a self-proclaimed Jane Austen addict. She has read and reread all six of Austen’s books and is a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. She has also just written her first novel, a charming romantic tale called Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.
After Courtney Stone finds her boyfriend Frank having an affair with their wedding cake designer, she nurses her rejection with a copy of Pride and Prejudice and a bottle of Absolut. She wakes up to find herself in the body of Jane Mansfield, a 19th-century English woman.
Courtney is not prepared for the chamber pots, corsets, and endless embroidery that are a normal part of Jane’s life. But living in Jane’s body does have its perks: servants wait on her hand and foot, there’s plenty of delicious food to eat and balls to attend, and the dashing Mr. Edgeworth makes her weak in the knees. But can he be trusted? And how will she ever return to her life in 21st-century Los Angeles?
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wednesday october 03
I don’t like football. I understand the rules, but not the fascination with the game. As strange as it may seem, I enjoy watching the television show Friday Night Lights, starring Kyle Chandler and the Dillon Panthers, the high school football team of small town Dillon, Texas. Season two kicks off this Friday, October 5th.
The television series (and the 2004 movie) is based on the book Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger. Originally published in 1990 (around the time yours truly was graduating from high school), Bissinger follows the 1988 Permian Panthers of Odessa, Texas into the locker room and onto the field, from preseason to playoffs.
The Panthers keep the hopes and dreams of this oil town alive, so Odessa takes its championship team seriously. The Permian High School stadium seats 19,000 and has artificial turf. Women carry black leather purses that look like footballs. One man has attended every game since the school opened in 1959 (except when he had heart bypass surgery). And angry fans, upset over a loss, place “For Sale” signs in the coach’s front yard.
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tuesday september 25
This past weekend, I was looking at my mom’s September/October issue of The Bark magazine and saw a dog on the front cover that looked quite similar to our late family dog, Daisy. This dog had the same cute black-and-white face and was also a mix of Beagle and Border Collie, a fact I soon discovered as I turned the page and read the Editor’s Note.
The dog’s name was Nellie, and the owners are the founders of The Bark. Nellie sadly died of cancer this summer, but pictures of her can be seen in this issue and on the front cover of Dog is My Co-Pilot: Great Writers on the World’s Oldest Friendship, a touching anthology of dog writing compiled by the editors of The Bark magazine.
When our dog Daisy died of cancer, a good friend made a Pet Memorial Fund donation to the library, which was used to purchase a dog book to remember her. And if your child is grieving the loss of a four-legged friend, I highly recommend the tender children’s book Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant.
wednesday september 19
“On the first day of my teaching career, I was almost fired for eating the sandwich of a high school boy. On the second day I was almost fired for mentioning the possibility of friendship with a sheep. Otherwise, there was nothing remarkable about my thirty years in the high school classrooms of New York City. I often doubted if I should be there at all. At the end I wondered how I lasted that long.”
So begins Teacher Man, Frank McCourt’s final memoir in his trilogy that starts with Pulitzer Prize-winning Angela’s Ashes and continues in ‘Tis.
In the classroom, McCourt tells stories of his childhood spent in poverty in Limerick, Ireland. He instructs one class to compose homework excuse notes (“A man died in the bathtub upstairs and it overflowed and messed up all of my homework"). He makes another read cooking recipes to music.
His lessons may be unconventional, but his students discover the beauty of the English language and learn to always think for themselves.
Continue Reading…
wednesday september 05
It’s hurricane season once again, with the recent anniversary of Hurricane Katrina serving as a grim reminder. On September 8, 1900, an even deadlier hurricane swept the coast of Galveston, Texas, killing as many as 10,000 people and changing the city forever.
Erik Larson, bestselling author of The Devil in the White City, tells the story of this hurricane and its impact on Isaac Cline, the meteorologist who believed no storm could ever seriously damage Galveston.
Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History combines the science of weather with personal accounts of survivors to track the hurricane from beginning to devastating end. At the eye of the storm are Isaac Cline, the rivalry with his fellow weatherman (and younger brother) Joseph, and the overconfidence of the age, when turn-of-the-century meteorology (and the newly formed United States Weather Bureau) could not prepare the residents of Galveston for a hurricane of this magnitude. By the time they realized evacuation was necessary, it was too late.
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thursday august 23
Last year I went to see the exhibit Diana: A Celebration at the Dayton Art Institute. I got a rare look at Princess Diana’s childhood photographs, mementos, and home movies, as well as a collection of her dresses worn at both royal and charity functions.
The highlight of the exhibit was the dress worn at her wedding to Prince Charles at St. Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981. Featuring a 25-foot train trimmed with lace and an 11-foot veil hand embroidered with 10,000 mother-of-pearl sequins, the dress was stunning to behold.
If you weren’t able to see the dress in person, then reading the book A Dress for Diana by David and Elizabeth Emanuel is the next best thing. The Emanuels became instantly famous when they were hand picked by Diana to design the most famous dress in the world.
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tuesday august 07
Several years ago, my friend and I went on a weekend bus trip to Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home in Memphis, Tennessee. On the way, I listened to Elvis: 30 #1 Hits and watched his movies Jailhouse Rock and King Creole. By the time we arrived on the front porch of Graceland, I was ready to meet the King.
Ever since that trip, I’ve enjoyed reading about his fascinating life. As the 30th anniversary of his death approaches on August 16th, I decided to read Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley. Considered the definitive biography of Elvis, Peter Guralnick recounts Presley’s early life and music before the rhinestone jumpsuits and peanut butter and banana sandwiches.
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tuesday july 24
In Pharaoh’s Army: Memories of the Lost War is the sequel to This Boy’s Life, Tobias Wolff’s classic coming-of-age memoir about growing up with an abusive stepfather in the 1950s.
A National Book Award finalist, In Pharaoh’s Army chronicles Wolff’s decision to join the Army and ultimately, the Vietnam War. Wolff’s voice is painfully honest, rendering the horrors of war and its casualties (including his good friend Hugh Pierce) with both sensitivity and shattered illusions. He is equally hard on himself, examining his own close calls and survival amidst the loss of so many others.
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wednesday july 11
July and August are my least favorite months to garden. The flowers look great, but it’s too hot outside to care. And who wants to weed while getting eaten by mosquitoes? Fortunately, the library has plenty of books to cure those summertime gardening blues. Here are a few selections:
Three Seasons of Summer: Gardening with Annuals and Biennials by Ethne Clarke discusses plant recommendations and maintenance tasks for early, mid-, and late summer gardens.
Summer Garden Glory by Adrian Bloom explains the challenges of summer gardens and emphasizes how to maintain color and interest throughout the season.
Late Summer Flowers by Marina Christopher suggests late blooming annuals, biennials, and perennials for the garden as summer gives way to autumn.
We’ve also put together a great list of gardening books and websites for you. So put on those gardening gloves, grab a trowel, and dig in!
sunday july 01
The Fourth of July is here, so set off some fireworks by cooking a pot of hot, spicy chili!
Authors Michael and Jane Stern have served up a mouth-watering book of chili recipes called Chili Nation. The husband and wife duo, best known for their book Roadfood (and website by the same name), take chili lovers on a coast-to-coast trip from Alabama (Chili a la Whistle Stop) to Wyoming (Code 10 Chili) and every state in between.
The Sterns believe that chili is this country’s one truly shared national food because it can be found on every table and crosses all cultural and ethnic lines. Indeed, the recipes they have selected represent America in all its diversity and local flavors.
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sunday june 17
Cynthia Kaplan went to summer camp and school dances, had a crush on Jamie Karlan, got dumped by boyfriends, struggled with her career, sought the approval of her parents, cared for her ill grandmother, got married, became a mother, and tried to live her life the best she knew how.
If you see yourself in any of these scenarios, then you understand the happiness and heartache of being a woman.
But if you think Why I'm Like This: True Stories is going to be an overly sentimental book, think again. Often compared to David Sedaris, Kaplan's personal essays are funny and sad yet refreshingly frank, as if she is examining her life under a microscope.
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thursday june 07
Last fall, when my husband went to Chicago on business, I came along and roamed the city on my own. Since I love architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s work, I made sure to visit his famous Robie House near the University of Chicago.
Later, we stopped in Oak Park, Illinois for a tour of Wright’s home and studio, where he lived with his family and designed his early work. My husband and I, guidebook and umbrella in hand, found some of his other houses that reside here and admired their simple elegance from the sidewalk.
What ties several of these houses together is his Prairie style of architecture. I recently discovered a book by Alan Hess called Frank Lloyd Wright: Prairie Houses, which beautifully showcases the exteriors and interiors of Wright's Prairie homes in Chicago, Oak Park, and elsewhere.
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tuesday may 29
The Butterfly Show has taken flight at the Krohn Conservatory in Eden Park through June 24th!
When I think of butterflies, I always think of the butterfly alphabet by nature photographer Kjell Sandved, whose amazing butterfly photographs can be seen in A World of Butterflies and the children’s book The Butterfly Alphabet.
Originally from Norway, Sandved came to the United States in 1960 to research a wildlife encyclopedia that he was working on. The Smithsonian Institution invited him to view the museum’s collections, and that’s when he peered into a cigar box of butterfly and moth specimens and first saw a letter ‘F’ on one of the wing patterns. He taught himself how to take photographs, and a quest for an entire alphabet had begun.
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wednesday may 16
My husband and I went camping this past weekend. Much to my dismay, the campground facilities were “primitive”--no electricity, flush toilets, or showers. And while this was not really “roughing it” by any stretch of the imagination (bug spray, grilling supplies, and cans of beef stew could easily be picked up at the corner campground store), it was nice to commune with nature if only for a few days.
The book I read around the campfire was a bit somber, so my thoughts turned instead to Bill Bryson’s hilarious misadventure, A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. Bryson decides to tramp the “AT”—the 2,100-mile trail connecting Georgia to Maine--and brings along his notoriously out-of-shape, Little Debbie-eating, childhood sidekick Stephen Katz. What ensues is a hike to remember, not only for the beauty of their surroundings, but the people they encounter (an annoying hiker named Mary Ellen) and the things they hope not to encounter (bears).
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tuesday may 08
In 1962, when author Sebastian Junger was almost one year old, his parents hired two carpenters to build a studio addition behind their house in Belmont, Massachusetts.
One of those carpenters was Albert DeSalvo.
Bessie Goldberg was found strangled at her home in Belmont on March 11, 1963. The killing fit the pattern of the Boston Strangler, who had been terrorizing the women of that city since the previous summer. Roy Smith, a black man cleaning the Goldberg home that day, was convicted of the crime and sent to jail.
The killings continued.
Albert DeSalvo was also working that day—at the Junger home a little over a mile away. He later confessed that he was the Boston Strangler and admitted killing 13 women, but insisted Bessie Goldberg was not one of them. Sebastian Junger, bestselling author of The Perfect Storm and Fire, writes about this encounter--and a possible case of legal injustice--in
A Death in Belmont.
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wednesday april 25
Every time I take a walk on my lunch hour, I pass by a florist’s shop. I try to peek inside the open door and catch a glimpse or a whiff of the beautiful roses, lilies, tulips, and gerbera daisies for sale. Sometimes I see a customer leave with a parcel of flowers or a bouquet in a vase and I happily imagine them sitting on my desk.
Author Amy Stewart loves flowers too. In her new book,
Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers, she travels around the world and behind the scenes to catch her own glimpse of the cut flower industry. And what an interesting glimpse it is!
Stewart visits California, Miami, Holland, and Latin America to see firsthand how flowers are bred, grown, shipped, and sold. Along the way, she tells intriguing stories, such as the quest for the elusive blue rose or the eccentric breeder of the popular 'Stargazer' lily.
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saturday april 14
April 15th marks the 95th anniversary of the sinking of the steamship RMS Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean on a calm, starry night in 1912. What better way to commemorate the event and honor the 1,523 lives lost than by attending Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, closing May 6th at the Cincinnati Museum Center.
If you’re looking for a good read on the subject, why not try a book published in 1955 that still makes the disaster come alive today: A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. I decided to pick up my copy (after many sad years of gathering dust on my bookshelf) and was surprised by its immediacy.
Lord interviewed Titanic survivors before writing his classic tale and the result is a minute-by-minute account of the ship’s sinking and its aftermath. His narrative “you are there” style is considered groundbreaking and influential, and when combined with a viewing of the Titanic artifacts, you can’t help but be moved.
friday april 06
If you’re a Grey’s Anatomy fan like me, you know all about Meredith Grey, McDreamy, McSteamy, and the rest of the surgical staff at Seattle Grace Hospital. But you might not know about a heart-pounding book called Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande.
In this collection of essays--a National Book Award finalist—Gawande candidly admits that doctors make mistakes because medicine is a human endeavor, and humans make mistakes. We follow Gawande making his rounds as a surgical resident at a Boston hospital: fumbling a central line or an emergency tracheostomy; missing a deadly aortic aneurysm. His own missteps and those of others illustrate his central theme--that medicine is not a perfect science but one full of uncertainty, guesswork, intuition, and oftentimes, mystery.
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